Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Here is the reason I had to learn photoshop last week. This temple plaque is the other craft I made up for Super Saturday. I had Darin take some photos of the Columbia River temple then worked some magic in photoshop and came up with (what I think) is a really sweet picture. I painted a 12x12 inch piece of wood and drilled some holes for the ribbon. After I got it put together I felt like it still needed something and ended up putting the flower and vintage button in the corner. It came out better than I had hoped. What I also love about it is that this can be completely personalized. It would be really cute with the wood painted white and some pink ribbon and a sticker that says I'm going there some day. We are selling the prints if anyone is interested just leave a comment or send me an email.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I have been learning a little bit of Photoshop this week out of necessity but also cuz its kind of fun. I tend to stay away from photography stuff since Darin is so good at it and its his thing. But we just got Photoshop CS4 and I found my own actions to download and use. I've looked on Pioneer Woman's cooking blog before but I never noticed that she also does photography (or any of the other things on there!). Anyways she has two sets of actions that are SUPER easy to use and load right into photoshop. You can download her actions here. My favorite is actually the Seventies one. There are also some tutorials on how to use photoshop that I am going to check out next! So here's a picture of Ivy that I used the Seventies action and Boost. I adjusted the opacity of the seventies a little bit. Ha ha, I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I think its unanimous that Ashley of Lil Blue Boo is fabulous. Her artistic ability is ridiculous. But in a good way that rubs off on anyone that follows what she does. She even got me to buy one of her new patterns with the promise of showing an easy way to do button holes without a buttonhole foot. The directions for my sewing machine are translated into english by someone who doesn't speak it I think. So the thought of figuring it out has made me put buttons off too long. Anyways. I got the new Paper Doll Pattern and had fun matching up some homespun at the store. I can't decide if I want to add the pockets yet, guess I'll have to make another one and compare! The only thing I did different from the pattern was cut it two inches longer since Ivy has got such long legs. It is very similar to the sundress tutorial on Lil Blue Boo that I used to make a bunch of dresses this summer. But I heart the criss cross straps on this one and the homespun twist is perfect for fall! And just so you know running to get her Dad is what makes Ivy that happy. Thanks Darin for the photo shoot!

I got the Christmas Blocks done for Super Saturday. The paper I picked out and LOVE didn't work out with the white stickers, so I think I'm going to make some with red stickers and see what I think. I still think they turned out really cute. And I think we are going to get a miter saw so I don't have to bug my neighbor to cut a hundred blocks for me! I'm going to be doing a holiday bazaar in November that I want to make blocks for so hopefully it will just be a business investment right?! If anyone is interested in a kit to make your own or want me to make you some blocks let me know! (Sorry for the self promotion but I really like fabric! LOL)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I was looking for some ideas for Super Saturday and came across Poppy Seed Projects. There are a bunch of fun ideas on there, and I love the countdown blocks. Our Super Saturday isn't until Nov. 7th so we decided to do a Christmas countdown, but I really wanted the Halloween blocks. Since I'm gonna be teaching the blocks class I had to figure out how to do them so I went ahead with the Halloween ones. The hardest part was actually finding someone to cut up my stupid 4x4 post. My nice neighbor was making a fence and took time out to cut some wood for me. I'm also glad my mom brought some paper last time she came cuz craft supplies are pretty limited here in the Tri Cities. I'm REALLY excited with how they turned out. Here are some pictures Darin took with his fancy new lightbox!

I've decided to do a separate blog for all of this craftiness swirling around in my head. I don't want it taking over our family blog, and I think I might sleep better if I can keep all of my ideas in one place! Now that I have actually sold some of the stuff that I have made, I'm a little bit more confident in sharing. I'm a little anxious about this, cuz if anything, all of those crafty ladies out there have me a little intimidated. I look at those blogs that are on my inspiration list and wonder how they can come up with such good ideas, keep their houses clean and keep up with everything else and not go a little crazy! So here goes nothing! Hopefully I can pass on some inspiration to you!

We were cleaning out the garage since I was getting the fall decorations out and going through some baby stuff for my sister in law. Ivy put this size 6 months BYU shirt on and besides the neck it actually fit. So I thought I would try to fix it so she could wear it this year. I cut out the neck, and cut off the sleeves. I ruffled the sleeves then reattached them. I also cut the bottom off of a white t-shirt that is too short for me. More ruffling, then attached it to the shirt. It needed pants so I made some from another shirt I never wear. Now Ivy is ready for football season!